Our Team of Specialists
Stuart Slabbert
Stuart Slabbert
Stuart Slabbert
With a background in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Environmental Planning, Project Management, and Conservation - Stuart has spent the past 30 years operating across Africa seeking innovative ways to conserve the biodiversity of Africa he so loves, and to do that in an authentic manner that is in relationship with communities that
With a background in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Environmental Planning, Project Management, and Conservation - Stuart has spent the past 30 years operating across Africa seeking innovative ways to conserve the biodiversity of Africa he so loves, and to do that in an authentic manner that is in relationship with communities that so depend on the same resource. Stuart has several years of experience in working in Saudi Arabia on a range of conservation solutions that include biodiversity baseline assessments, social surveys, conservation management plans, animal capture, transport, wildlife reintroductions and post release monitoring solutions. Stuart has in depth experience with both socio-economic development projects and large-scale commercial investments that span a range of sectors that include tourism development, community enterprise developments, aquaculture, fisheries, agriculture, large scale apiculture, structuring innovative funding and investment models, and carbon project development. Stuart is driven to find innovative investment and funding solutions towards achieving financial sustainability of protected areas.
Simon Naylor
Stuart Slabbert
Stuart Slabbert
Simon is a seasoned wildlife conservation professional with a remarkable 30-year career in tourism and wildlife conservation management. Starting as a guide for andBeyond at Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa, Simon quickly expanded his expertise across East Africa, setting up and managing their guide training school in the Tan
Simon is a seasoned wildlife conservation professional with a remarkable 30-year career in tourism and wildlife conservation management. Starting as a guide for andBeyond at Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa, Simon quickly expanded his expertise across East Africa, setting up and managing their guide training school in the Tanzania and Kenya. From there, he ventured to Botswana as Operations Manager for andBeyond’s luxury mobile camping safari operation for a number of years. In 2006, Simon returned to Phinda Private Game Reserve as Conservation Manager, overseeing all aspects of wildlife and reserve management, community relations, and groundbreaking translocation projects. His achievements include relocating 100 white rhinos to Botswana, Rwanda, and Garamba National Park, as well as reintroducing lions to Rwanda and pangolins back into Zululand after been locally extinct for decades.
Simon brings a wealth of wildlife and protected area management, research & monitoring, restoration and reintroduction and rewilding or wildlife.
He is an active member of numerous conservation NGOs and wildlife interest groups. With extensive travel experience across Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America, Simon provides valuable input and consultancy for diverse conservation projects.
Kester Vickery
Stuart Slabbert
Kester Vickery
Christopher John (Kester) Vickery, co-founder of Conservation Solutions has been translocating wildlife as a full-time occupation for 30 years. He has translocated more than 160 000 animals of varying species in 20 different countries. The Conservation Solution’s team has developed unique translocation systems to effectively move large
Christopher John (Kester) Vickery, co-founder of Conservation Solutions has been translocating wildlife as a full-time occupation for 30 years. He has translocated more than 160 000 animals of varying species in 20 different countries. The Conservation Solution’s team has developed unique translocation systems to effectively move large mammals and antelope at scale over long distances. More specifically, Kester and his team have designed and constructed tailor made equipment for effective and stress free translocation. Conservation Solutions regularly works with government wildlife departments and NPO’s providing veterinary, technical, and logistical assistance for wildlife management and rewilding initiatives. Kester and his team have undertaken some of the largest and most complex translocations ever attempted across the globe. The Conservation Solutions team is made up of several expert pilots, veterinarians, and technical wildlife specialists. Their key focus is to make a meaningful difference to the protected areas within which they work by translocating species from areas in which they occur in abundance to areas in which they occur either in small numbers or are locally extinct.
Andrew Parker
Harriet Davies-Mostert
Andrew Parker
Bringing extensive experience in both the private and public protected area management sectors, Andrew has worked as CEO of both Welgevonden and the Sabi Sand Private Nature Reserves in South Africa. He joined African Parks in 2013, firstly as Operations Director, then as Conservation Director driving the growth and development of African
Bringing extensive experience in both the private and public protected area management sectors, Andrew has worked as CEO of both Welgevonden and the Sabi Sand Private Nature Reserves in South Africa. He joined African Parks in 2013, firstly as Operations Director, then as Conservation Director driving the growth and development of African Parks across the continent. After five years, he joined Conservation International (CI) as Senior Director of Conservation for Africa; then promoted by CI to Vice President of Strategy and Programs for Africa. In March 2020 he turned his full attention to leading the development of Conserve, driven by a sense of urgency to address the crisis unfolding around vacant concessions. Qualifications include an MSc degree in ecology from the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). Andrew believes firmly that conservation must be part of Africa’s development agenda and is committed to promoting the value of the continent’s wildlife and wild places as a source of enduring value for her people.
He has recently been awarded a Henry Arnhold Fellowship with Mulago Foundation
Matt Rice
Harriet Davies-Mostert
Andrew Parker
Matt began with grassroots community conservation work in Namibia under the tutelage of Garth Owen-Smith, a globally acclaimed pioneer in this field. This work was critical in establishing one of the most successful conservation programmes in Africa that today represents 86 conservancies covering 166,000 km². He later applied this experie
Matt began with grassroots community conservation work in Namibia under the tutelage of Garth Owen-Smith, a globally acclaimed pioneer in this field. This work was critical in establishing one of the most successful conservation programmes in Africa that today represents 86 conservancies covering 166,000 km². He later applied this experience in building Northern Rangelands Trust in northern Kenya. He was involved in the design, creation and executive management of Chuilexi Conservancy within Niassa Reserve in northern Mozambique – Africa’s largest tourism holding under private management; and initiating a new conservation programme for Fauna & Flora International in South Sudan. He has also been involved in diverse conservation contexts and projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Conservation at scale has been one of the hallmarks of Matt’s career.
Harriet Davies-Mostert
Harriet Davies-Mostert
Harriet Davies-Mostert
With an early career focussed on large carnivore conservation, Harriet is passionate about the role of conservation evidence and applied science in driving effective action. She also understands that good decision making is both a science and an art. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Harriet spent the last 23 years at the Endangered Wildlife T
With an early career focussed on large carnivore conservation, Harriet is passionate about the role of conservation evidence and applied science in driving effective action. She also understands that good decision making is both a science and an art. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Harriet spent the last 23 years at the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa, driving its strategic direction and later building its Conservation Planning and Science Unit. Harriet sits on various national and international advisory and technical committees and is an active member of the IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group. She has published over 50 scientific papers and book chapters covering topics from large carnivore ecology and conservation, natural resources governance and policy, the wildlife economy, road ecology, and restorative justice.
Qualifications include an MSc in Tropical Resource Ecology from the University of Zimbabwe, and a Doctorate on African Wild Dogs from Oxford University’s WildCRU. Harriet is excited by the opportunity to assist Conserve in delivering enormous conservation impact across Africa.
Mike Grover
Tamsyn Bean-Klette
Tamsyn Bean-Klette
Based in the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, Mike has been involved in Conservation in this 2.5 Million hectares of wilderness since 2007 when he graduated a Bsc Ecology at the University of Cape Town, with a honours in GIS (Geographic information system). Having worked his way up to the position as Ecologist in the Sab
Based in the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Conservation Area, Mike has been involved in Conservation in this 2.5 Million hectares of wilderness since 2007 when he graduated a Bsc Ecology at the University of Cape Town, with a honours in GIS (Geographic information system). Having worked his way up to the position as Ecologist in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve in which Mike was involved in the management of one of the worlds premier game reserves including game capture, problem animal control, research and land management while also completing his Master’s degree on Rabies transmission as a part time student through the University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, Veterinary University, Mike embraced an opportunity to change current practice by thinking outside the box and turning to technology for assistance in conservation monitoring and developed a live data capture system for wildlife and started his own technology company Activating Africa. As a young professional Mike presented at the WILD 10 conference in Salamanca, Spain 2013. And as a member of the CoalitionWILD committee serving on the committee for 4 years enabled Mike to become involved in making connections for young environmental professionals. However after recognizing that the landscape approach was critical to conservation Mike started working with indigenious communities adjacent to protected areas testing climate positive land use projects. This lead to a 7 year career as a Landscape Director for Conservation International (South Africa office) developing a sustainable livestock and soil organic carbon project in the Kruger to Canyon linked to rangeland restoration. Working for Conserve since January 2024 has given Mike the opportunity to take the learnings from his career and help invest in Indigenous land users so that they Invest in Nature.
Tamsyn Bean-Klette
Tamsyn Bean-Klette
Tamsyn Bean-Klette
Tammy holds an MSc in Environmental Management and has significant experience in natural resource management, conservation planning, stakeholder engagement and community development, throughout sub-Southern Africa. Tammy is the lead coordinator on GIS and conservation monitoring technologies related matters for Conserve Global. Her expe
Tammy holds an MSc in Environmental Management and has significant experience in natural resource management, conservation planning, stakeholder engagement and community development, throughout sub-Southern Africa. Tammy is the lead coordinator on GIS and conservation monitoring technologies related matters for Conserve Global. Her expertise here lies in the process of creating and managing geo-spatial databases, mapping, remote sensing, field observation and data acquisition and coordination. As the use of various forms of geo-spatial technologies transform the conservation space, Tammy is a firm believer in using these tools to understand ecosystem dynamics and measure changes to guide conservation planning and management decisions in some of Africa’s most critical landscapes.